You’ve had this conversation before: a friend describes someone from Greenpoint, “a young white dude, covered in tattoos,” but that’s every guy in Greenpoint and needs some elaboration. She continues with “beard, rides a bike,” and you’re still stumped.
The Greenpointer I am describing is 19 year old Derek Atson, an enthusiastic and friendly young guy who was born and raised on Morgan Ave. He proudly shows off his huge chest tattoos of the old Greenpoint tanks and the G-train. And he raps about the neighborhood he loves.
His stage name is Can’t Stop Atson and he recently won a Def Jam Showcase, an esteemed accomplishment for any budding MC. Continue reading →
As if we need another reason to complain about reckless bicyclists on the streets of Brooklyn – not only do they put their own lives at risk in order to make the city a less polluted and traffic congested place, but they kill trees!
Not by crashing into them – this is a slower more painful death. Apparently trees, those things with green leaves, are mistaken for bike racks. And blame it on forgetfulness or rust or stolen parts, whatever the reason, many bikes are abandoned attached to trees.
As the trees continues to grow they literally get choked by the chains that becomes tighter and tighter around the trunks, a fatal process called girdling.
One Brooklyn man is sick and tired of seeing these soon to be suffocated trees and began the Treedom Project to save them. He needs your help!
If you see an old rusty clunker chained to a tree, report it. On Sunday May 26th, Rob and his team of DIY tree heros will be cutting the locks off reported bikes.
I met up with tree vigilante Rob Birdsong and his big hound dog Bo on the corner of Moultre St and Norman Ave in Greenpoint to take a look at a reported tree. A rusty bike with flattened tires, unrideable after a rough winter, was left chained to the tree. It’s clear this cyclist doesn’t care about his bike – or the tree. And right around the corner we found another tree choking bike.
Missing since May 7th, “Kitty” was last seen on Norman near Eckford. She is a 12 year old, 8lb spayed female cat, with a pouchy stomach and a wandering eye. If found contact Oren at 310-415-3162.
Aside from its namesake, there is not a more appropriate place than Greenpoint to have two huge environmental events on the very same day. A neighborhood victimized with a long history of environmental abuse, Greenpoint can be a beacon for environmental healing and awareness. Participate this weekend to promote a cleaner and healthier Greenpoint.
This Saturday’s (5/11/13) Go Green! Greenpoint Festival in McCarren Park from 11am-5pm, will feature ogranizations whose mission helps the environments, like eco-friendly, recycled, upcycled and organic products as well as services that promote Earth Day.
The day will also feature the 1st Brooklyn Science & Art Pop-Up Museum as well as a Greencycle Swap!
Dr. Seaman of Greenpoint Veterinary Hospital lost his cat Greta today from his Huron St (between Manhattan Ave & Franklin St) home. If you find her please do not hesitate to call (718) 406 – 2022. Please share this post.
Is your cupcake the best in North Brooklyn? Or do you just love to eat them (who doesn’t?) NAG invites amateur bakers of all stripes to compete for the honor of North Brooklyn’s Best Cupcake. To compete email: nag.bklyn at gmail.com
Categories include Best Overall, Best Presentation, Best Savory, and Best Vegan!
Judges include Jen G (me!) from Greenpointers.com, Ovenly Head Baker Hannah Duke, Carmen Rodriguez of Brooklyn Cupcake, and Councilmember Diana Reyna!
Prizes from Brooklyn Slate, Ovenly, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and more! Beer from Brooklyn Brewery!
Submit your art to Northside Art at Williamsburg Walks, which takes place June 15th 3-8pm (N8th- N9th Bedford Ave) & June 16th Viewing Party @ Acme Studios Noon- 6pm (63 N3rd).
Deadline: May 15th, 2013
Temporary wall units, interactive installations and sculptures will be staggered throughout the block for live painting performances, graffiti and other participation oriented works. In addition to the installations there will be a variety of related activities to engage in and pop up parks. All works created during the event will be on display during a viewing party held the next day at Acme Studios (65. N3rd St) from noon-6pm.
Northside Art is seeking proposals for:
1. live painting/graffiti/collage
2. interactive installations/workshops
3. sculpture/stand alone installations
Send all submissions and questions to varneyvictoria (at) gmail.com.
If you’re shopping for your produce locally you likely have seen ramps. If you have a great ramp recipe – please share in the comments below!
If you’re like WTF is a ramp and what do I do with it? – we can help.
Ramps (Allium tricoccum) look like grassy greens and are in the wild onion family. Interestingly, they grow native in the east of North America (SUPER LOCAL!) but have a short growing season, which makes them special. Flavor-wise they have a subtle onion garlicky flavor.
Ramps and butter are where it’s at. A quick recipe is to sautée ramps in butter and serve on bruschetta (which is fancy for sliced and toasted Italian bread or baguette.)
Here is another quick and easy recipe for Ramps With Polenta and Mushrooms:
Bring 3.5 C broth (veggie or chicken) to a boil. In the meantime sautée a handful of ramps in butter or olive oil and salt and pepper. Whisk into the boiling water a cup of polenta and the sautéed ramps. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 15min and stir often. Meanwhile, sautée shiitake or crimini mushrooms with fresh or dried sage in butter. Serve the polenta in a bowl topped with the mushrooms. Add more salt pepper and olive oil or butter to taste.
We are pretty pumped about the Brooklyn Vintage Crawl happening this Saturday, April 27th, 2013 from noon-8pm! Not only is shopping vintage cooler and more uniquely stylish than buying cheaply mass produced fashion that will have you looking like everyone else; buying recycled fashion is greener and supports local businesses in your own neighborhood!
We chatted with Kathy Irby and Emily Lichtenberg, the organizers of this weekend’s Vintage Crawl who are passionate about shopping vintage, having a great time, and supporting small businesses.
GP: Why is the Brooklyn Vintage Crawl bigger and better than last year?
Emily: This year we have teamed up with our friends at Neon Gold Records to present a post-crawl after party at Brooklyn Bowl– and what’s even better is that if you buy a ticket to the show and bring it with you on the crawl (either printed or on your phone) you get even more discounts at all of our stores and bars.
GP: How did it get started organizing the crawl? Emily: I had actually been organizing vintage crawls on a MUCH smaller scale for me and my friends since I moved to the neighborhood in the Spring of 2010 … I’m just VERY passionate about drinking and shopping!
GP: What is Brooklyn Vintage Crawl’s mission? Bigger picture? Emily: We’ve always aimed to help promote shopping small businesses and have fun doing it… With nearly three Vintage Crawls under our belts, we’re ready to take our concept on the road and are already in the process of brainstorming.
GP: Do ethical fashion choices related to sustainability and concerns of the environment make vintage a better alternative to mass produced fashion? Kathy: All those things are great side effects of vintaging but really we just value having a good time with our friends and supporting small business. Especially since there really is a true community of re-sellers throughout our neighborhoods and shoppers who actually “get it.” We all just need to do our part in shopping our smaller boutiques in order to KEEP them in our neighborhood!”
GP: How do you two know each other and come to work on the crawl together? Kathy: We met as two perfect strangers, naturally in a vintage store, Antoinette, in Williamsburg. Emily casually mentioned how she takes her girlfriends on “vintage crawls” through the neighborhood and it just HIT me that we could make this idea BIG! Continue reading →
Everyone goes nuts about the Cherry Blossoms, but the true stunners are the Magnolia Trees, which make the most glorious giant pink and white flowers that only last a week. My last apartment in Greenpoint had a huge Magnolia in the yard and when it bloomed last spring we had a punch party to celebrate. These photos are dedicated to my Mom and Dad who took me to Brooklyn Botanic Gardens an infinite amount of times as a kid.
